AFC Notes: George Paton, Antonio Pierce, Andy Reid, Broncos, Chiefs, Raiders

Broncos

When asked about the Broncos’ lack of depth this season, GM George Paton said they want to build and develop their depth through the NFL Draft. 

“The depth, and I don’t want to use that as a cop-out, but you need depth in this league,” Paton said, via BroncosWire. “We budget for anything that comes along, cap wise. The depth gets affected when you don’t have draft picks because you are not going to go buy depth. You need to draft depth and develop depth.”

Paton points out that acquiring depth is typically done in the mid-to-late rounds of the draft or through undrafted free agents. 

“We’re always looking for young depth. They’re cheaper, and they are typically healthier. To answer your question, the depth of your team needs to come from the mid-to-late rounds and college free agency. Nate Adkins [is a] depth piece [as well as] ‘Palcho’ [Alex Palczewski], the tackle.”

Chiefs

When asked about his aggressive running style, Chiefs RB Isiah Pacheco laughing recalled people on social media saying he runs like he bites the ground. 

“The funniest one that I thought was they said that I run like I bite people,” said Pacheco, via NFL.com. “I ain’t no zombie. That was crazy. That was one of the funniest ones. You said, ‘I run like I bite the ground/grass,’ that’s crazy. It’s a great opinion. For me, it’s just being determined and that I have a goal to achieve, and we want to get the job done.”

• In an interview on The Rich Eisen Show, Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio says he’s heard from sources the Chiefs have considered alternatives if HC Andy Reid retires this offseason, and have at least some reason to think it’s a possibility. 

Raiders

Raiders HC Antonio Pierce envisions building a tough home atmosphere that opposing teams don’t want to be a part of.

“We gotta make our stadium back to what it used to be, in that other place,” Pierce said, via Raiders Wire. “Las Vegas has to have this identity of Raider Nation [and] Allegiant Stadium. That’s my goal. That’s our players’ goal. That should be our fans’ goal. We do that together. As big as the Raider Nation is: you don’t want to come to this bad boy. You shouldn’t want to come to Vegas. You think it’s a fun trip? Hell no it ain’t a fun trip. Not no more! That’s got to end. That’s got to be a product too of our players and how we play. But it takes everybody.”

Pierce added that Las Vegas fans set a solid foundation for the atmosphere after he took over as head coach.

“That first game against the Giants, that crowd was electric,” Pierce said. “Then the last game, that was different. They were chanting. They were loud. They made their presence known.”